Glitch
by Syenya
Summary: Fact: When Electronics glitch, strange things happen. When a virtual reality set glitches, Lana's reality is torn away from her, leaving her stranded in Amestris, where she must become part of that world in order to come home. Post COS. Spoilers likely.
1. Sony VR

_(Note: I know I'm pushing the usual boundaries of goodfic with this, but I'm going to try as hard as I can to keep this from turning into a Mary Sue, and I'm trying to keep the characters as true to their creator's display of the world as I possibly can._

_This takes place after the movie, and (I hope) will offer some explanation to how Equivalent Exchange was kept in the movie._

_Please let me know if it's going borderline badfic, so that I can fix it. I really don't want this to crash.)_

Summary: "Given: When Electronics glitch, strange things happen. When a virtual reality set glitches, sometimes reality iteslf can change, for better or for worse. And sometimes, the hardest part is trying to get home again. Lana Hirokan must make her way through a new life in Amestris, while trying to understand exactly why life has thrown her across the Gate. Perhaps, though, our dreams are closer than we ever expect them to be."

Glitch

Chapter One: Sony VR

I sat in my chemistry class, positively _bored to tears_. Ms. Jasun was repeating the virtues of the periodic table for the seventeenth time over, and I was at the point of reciting it with her—That's how damn predictable the woman was. Not to say she wasn't a decent teacher… Just really, really, really, really redundant (Oh, I'm sorry, I think it's catching. Whoops!) .

Saja passed a note over to me, distracting me from my rambling, already distracted thoughts.

_Lana—_

_Wht do u thnk a/b new game 2day? Hrd it's VR. Anime ttls frm Jpn!_

I smiled. There was a new game system coming out today, that new VR set straight from Japan. As far as I had heard, VR had tons of games already, taken from all kinds of things. Anime, movies, you name it. Even Halo 4 had made a version for the Sony VR. 

Even more amazingly, I had a ticket for a free SVR, that I'd won from a writing contest. I was going after school to pick it up, that was for sure. I'd have to decide what games to buy.

* * *

Dr. Maria Ross stared at the computer screen, sipping a cup of coffee. It was one of those years, that was for sure. Everyone knew that the sun tended to flare about every 11 years, but this year was stronger than most. They would have to keep an eye on the magnetic field coming from the Sun. There was always a chance that something, somewhere could go wrong. 

A hand pressed on the back of the chair. "Dr. Ross?" A young woman said, looking over Maria's shoulder.

"Scieszka! Have you heard of high energy particles of this magnitude?" Maria asked. The girl had one hell of an eidetic memory, so chances were that if these had happened at any point in history, she'd know.

"No, Ma'am," Scieszka said, cleaning her glasses. "These are the strongest fields I've ever seen. And that might be trouble, with our atmosphere."

"That's what worries me." Maria said. "There's no doubt that we'll be seeing quite a few electronics glitches this season."

* * *

I stifled a shriek when the bell rang, and half-dragged Saja out of the classroom. 

"SVR TIME!!" I cried, tearing down the hallway. Playing video games was great, but to FEEL them? I couldn't even imagine how awesome that would be.

The GameStop where I'd be picking it up was a five minute drive from school, but I made it in four, thanks to a good supply of green lights and nice drivers on the way out of the parking lot. Saja was practically bouncing in the passenger seat (We'd promised to share the system.) and I was chattering at thirty miles a second.

"Ohmigod! I can't believe today's the day. And it was a prize! We get an SVR and we don't have to pay! Ohmigod!"

"Hey…" Saja said, "What game are we gonna get?"

That brought me up short I parked the car. "I dunno… What do you want to get?"

"Something Anime. Wouldn't that be totally cool? To be an Anime girl? And like, kick ass in heels?"

I shook my head. "Too Magical Girl-esque for me. What about an action anime?"

"Like what?" she asked. She, admittedly, watched more Shoujo than was good for her, and had missed on a lot of the better titles.

"I was thinking that Fullmetal Alchemist one. Apparently you start the game and you're preparing for the State Alchemist's Test."

"…Alchemist?" She asked.

"Uhm… nevermind. You'll learn the story as you play, I'm sure."

Saja shrugged. It wasn't THAT important.

We walked into GameStop, clutching the ticket for dear life.

"Hi, How can I help you?" The guy at the counter asked.

"I'm here to pick up my SVR," I told him, holding out the prize ticket. "And the game that comes with it."

He did a double take. "You won the SVR? Damn…"

"What?" I asked, ready to defend my gaming as a chick.

"I'm jealous. I want an SVR."

I laughed, relaxing. "Me too. Where is it?"

A taller man came in through a door in the back wall, a gleaming cardboard box in his hands. "Here you go, ladies. And what game did you want?"

"Hey Saja, you pick." I said, smiling. "I got the free system, it's only fair that you get to pick the game."

"Uhm…. I want to play the Naruto game!"

I sighed. Naruto was the one non-Shoujo anime she'd watch, though I couldn't understand why. But to her, her own, and that was okay with me.

I cast a glance over the shining game boxes, looking for one that I would want to play. "How about that FMA game?" I said, picking it up. "$30 dollars? That's not bad at all! Not for a new game!"

"So will you be getting that, then?" The cashier asked.

"Yup," I said, handing him the coupon and games. He rung it up, and returned the games to me in a plastic bag.

"Thirty-forty-nine," he said, and the register dinged happily. I paid, and we left the store.

"I can't wait to get home!" I chirped as we left the shopping center, and I drove her over to her house. "Come over this weekend, and we can play!"

* * *

The instant I walked into my room, I dropped my school stuff and made a beeline for the TV. Fuck homework, I was going to VR for a while. 

It was actually a fairly simple setup. The goggles, fingerpads, and headset all had their own color-coded jacks that plugged into a small black box that in turn connected to power. I turned on the system, slipped in the DVD, put the gear on, and fell into the world of my dreams.

* * *

_It was year 12, Central city. One year after the famed Fullmetal Alchemist had passed his Alchemy Exam at age twelve. One year after the bar was raised for Alchemists who had ever dreamed of joining the military._

_My task was simple, after I had created my character: To select a specialty, and find training before the Exam in three months. But first, I had to speak to one Roy Mustang._

_I walked the streets of Central, taking in the sights. This certainly was unlike anything I'd ever seen, and I was amazed at the texture I felt as I brushed my hand along the wall. It really did seem like a reality, as long as I didn't focus too carefully down the smaller alleys and side streets, where the map wasn't created. I looked around, and noticed a large white building in the distance with an emerald green banner hanging down the façade. Central Command. I began to walk toward it, noticing as I did so that I couldn't really feel the ground beneath my feet—Just the area moving towards me. But that was probably a good thing, as I wouldn't want the cords to rip away from the box, thanks to excess motion. _

_I entered the building, gaping up at the high ceilings and pure existence of it all. A woman's voice broke me out of my reverie._

_"Can I help you?" she asked, with an air of boredom._

_"I'm looking for Roy Mustang," I told her._

_"Do you have an appointment?" She asked._

_"I…" A beep sounded in my ear, and a recording began to play of a 'letter' that had apparently been sent to me, about an appointment with the Lt. Colonel. "Yes ma'am," I said, "I do."_

_"Name?" she asked._

_"Lana… Hirokan." I said, making up a surname on the spot._

_The woman picked up a phone, and dialed a number._

_"Yes, Mustang? I have an appointment for you. Some young woman… What?... Lana Hirokan. Yes, sir. Sir."_

_She looked up at me and smiled. "Go on up. Fourth floor up the stairs, and three doors to the right._

_I nodded, and allowed the camera to take me away._

_Looking around as I moved up the stairs, I discovered that if I inclined my head certain ways, I could take control of the camera and go where I wanted. That little tip I filed away for later use._

_A couple of minutes later, I was standing outside an oak door. I knocked, and waited with baited breath to see who would answer._

_A woman opened the door, and I forced myself not to do a double take. This was definitely the 2__nd__ Lt. Hawkeye, and she looked every bit as reserved as she appeared in the anime._

_"Ma'am?" I said, for some reason concerned about how I appeared to fictional characters. "I'm looking for the Lt. Colonel Mustang."_

_"Of course," she said, opening the door wider. I could see a dark-haired man sitting behind the desk, staring out the window near him. "Come in."_

_A chime rang in my ear, and a disembodied voice cheered "success!"_

_My first task was complete._

"_Save,"I commanded._

"_Saving," the voice responded. The goggles went dark. _


	2. Quantum Effects

_(Note: Thanks for the reviews and subs, guys! I hope I don't disappoint._

_I forgot to mention it last chapter, so let me cover my ass here: I don't own FMA. All licensed characters, places, and concepts belong to Hiromu Arakawa and the companies that licensed them in all their different incarnations. I'm only borrowing, and I promise that I'll return the characters the way I found them (If not a little cleaner. XD) Again, I'm a comment-whore, so please review. Concrit is love. Flames get donated to Mustang.)_

_ Much love goes out to my amazing beta, Hyrugi Kitsune, without whom I'd look like a blathering idiot. Many thanks._

Summary: "Given: When Electronics glitch, strange things happen. When a virtual reality set glitches, sometimes reality itself can change, for better or for worse. And sometimes, the hardest part is trying to get home again. Lana Hirokan must make her way through a new life in Amestris, while trying to understand exactly why life has thrown her across the Gate. Perhaps, though, our dreams are closer than we ever expect them to be."

Glitch

Ch. 2: Quantum Effects

"LANA!" my father called from downstairs. I jumped, and pulled off the headset.

"WHAT IS IT!?" I called back.

"Would you come down here for a minute?" he asked. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay..." I said with a private groan. My father and I did not get along great, and I rarely looked forward to his "chats", which were usually more along the lines of "college-related lectures and chore lectures" than anything worth the time it took.

I made my reluctant way downstairs, wishing with every step that I could go back up and plug in. I was starting to think that I much preferred the fantasy world to my own reality. At least there, college was only an option.

When I got downstairs, I discovered that I was correct.

"How was your day?" he asked. Like always.

"Fine," I said. "I got my SVR."

"And how is that?"

"Iono. I've barely started playing."

"OH. Well, don't let your GAMES get in the way of SCHOOL."

I won't, Dad. Don't worry. They're just games. School is important. I have to get into the best college. I have to be the perfect daughter and get a degree in perfection. And I can't do that by playing video games.

Hah---Had I said that, he would have torn my head off over how he just wants me to be the best I can be

"Okay, Dad."

I wandered into the kitchen, and started digging through the fridge for food.

"What have we got to eat?" I asked, staring at the sorrowfully empty fridge.

"Eh… Whatever's in there," Dad replied.

The television started blaring, and I sighed at my father's penchant for sitting on his ass.

"Hey Lan?"

"…Yes?"

"You might want to see this."

"What is it?" I asked, keeping my annoyance from my tone (he'd have my head if I 'mouthed off' to him.)

"They've got this story about sunspots and stuff."

"Eh. No thanks."

"Oh, alright. I just thought you'd like to watch it, I mean, you're so interested in this stuff! It's astronomy! And I was hoping you'd watch it with me."

I guess he was trying to be nice, but he always got so emotional over these things. It was like, by saying I didn't want to watch a story about fucking sunspots, I was telling him that I wanted to kill his dog. But that's the kind of person he was, and there wasn't really anything I could do to change it.

* * *

In school the next day, I was hit by a barrage of questions about the SVR.

"How was it?" they would ask.

"Amazing," I'd say.

"Could you feel everything?" one boy asked me; I told him about the texture of the walls, the sounds of life going on around you, the people that reacted to your presence.

"Could you control it?" Saja asked. So I told her how I could take a handle on the storyline, and introduce eddies and tangents by going off on my own during quests, but also how parts would be blocked, and how I could relax and let the camera take me as it wished.

"How do you fight?" one of the more action-obsessed boys asked. I confessed that I hadn't gotten to doing Alchemy yet, let alone fighting anyone. He looked disappointed.

"What did the characters look like?" Alai asked. She was a complete FMA _nerd_.

"Riza was… Intimidating," I said with a laugh. "I knocked on Roy's door, and she opened it. And I was like, OMGWTFOSHIT."

Alai giggled. "What did _Roy_ look like?"

I grinned. "He was sitting in front of the window, so I couldn't see him too well. It was disappointing, really. No eye-candy for Lana."

She suddenly got very serious. "Did you see Ed?"

I laughed. "No, you silly fangirl. I think he's in South Command, actually. It's a year after his test."

"Oh…" she said, her face falling. "That's a pity."

"I'm sure I'll see him at some point." I told her.

"You'd better. Or else." She said teasingly.

"Or else what?" I asked her.

"Or else I'll be unhappy." She said.

"Oh NOES! Unhappy Fangirl Alert! Code red! Code red!" I said, laughing hysterically.

"Come on, let's get to class," Alai said, grinning.

* * *

My first class, that day, was English. We were studying poetry, and it was time to dissect the very strange (and usually fascinating) poems that our textbook tended to feature. The last homework had been to analyze two poems, and I had picked e.e. cummings's "l(a" and Edmund Conti's "Pragmatist". I won't bore you with the details (Unless my wordcount flounders. I'm writing this as a memory of noveling months from long ago.), but suffice it to say that those two poems since became some of my favorite poems in the world.

I found it hard to pay attention, though. School wasn't where I wanted to be, to be honest. I wanted to be home, plugged in, making my way through a world that was beyond my wildest dreams.

But first, I had to finish the day.

My next class was Computer Graphics, where I worked on colorizing a black and white photo that I had taken of a friend a few months previous. After that was Photography, and then Calculus—it was a fairly mundane day.

I did finally make my way home, my brain feeling like mush from the inanity of a list of boring classes. As I had the day before, I began VRing as soon as I got home, planning to carry out the next mission or so as a winding down from the day.

* * *

_I stood in the doorway of Lt. Colonel Mustang's office, on the verge of entry. The man was idly shuffling papers from one side of his desk to the other, clearly procrastinating on something. _

_The blonde woman who had let me in spoke. "Sir, this is Lana Hirokan to see you. She's interested in the exam."_

_"Thank you, Lieutenant," he said, looking up. He then turned to me, and seemed to look me up and down. _

_"So, do you think you're ready for this?" He asked me. _

_"I think so, Sir," I said, nodding._

_"It is customary that those who intend to take the test find training before the exam. That will be your duty to find," he said. "However, I suggest that you try to find someone whose specialty relates to your own. What is your talent?"_

_"I..." I said, casting about my mind for an idea. _

_The electronic voice began to rattle off a list of possible tracks. "Fire-based, Water-based, Air-based, Metal-based, Medicine-based, Stone-based, Offensive, Defensive, Food-based, Life—" The voice cut off unexpectedly._

"_What the…?" I said. "Save."_

_There was no response._

"_Quit! End Task! Stop--!" The world fell to darkness around me._


	3. Awakening

_(Note: Thanks again for the reviews and subs. You all make my day, you know that? Again, I hope this doesn't disappoint. Also again, I don't own FMA. We know this. Moving on. Reviews and concrit are adored, flames will be donated to Mustang or fed to my mini-Balrog, Rosey.)_

Summary: "Given: When Electronics glitch, strange things happen. When a virtual reality set glitches, sometimes reality itself can change, for better or for worse. And sometimes, the hardest part is trying to get home again. Lana Hirokan must make her way through a new life in Amestris, while trying to understand exactly why life has thrown her across the Gate. Perhaps, though, our dreams are closer than we ever expect them to be."

Glitch

Chapter Three: Awakening

"Are you awake yet?" a female voice said above me.

"Huh-whammf?" I responded, completely lacking all coherence. I opened my eyes, and was shocked to wakefulness.

A blonde girl sat at the foot of a bed that I had been tucked into, thoughtfully tapping a rhythm on her palm with a wrench.

"What the fuck?" I said, looking around.

"You_ are_ awake. That's good," she said, looking me over. "Can you think of where you are?"

"…That's a really good question," I confessed. "Where am I?"

"That's not good," She said. "You're in my home. In Risembool."

I stared at her. "Risembool? As in, Amestris?"

She grinned suddenly. "You know it! Oh, yay! Can you tell me your name?"

"Lana…" I said. "Lana Hirokan," I specified, on a sudden stroke of inspiration. I had to be dreaming, the game had to have snuck into my sleep. So I might as well have made it fun.

"Excellent!" she said. "Auntie will be pleased."

"Who are you?" I asked, looking askew at her. "What am I doing here?"

"I'm Winry," she said, "Winry Rockbell. But why you're here, I don't know. Den found you down by the river, unconscious," she told me. "He brought me to come help you. He saved your life."

"Who is Den?" I asked. I was ninety-five percent sure, but I had to be certain.

"Oh," Winry said, "He's my puppy! Only, he's not really a puppy, but still. DEN! C'MERE!"

I heard the click of dog nails on the hardwood floor as the dog came to his mistress's call.

"Azzagooboy!" Winry said, scratching his ears. He looked up at me with soft eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Den," I said, dropping my hand over the side of the bed. He nosed my fingertips, and I scratched his head. "That's a good boy."

A surprisingly short, older woman stepped into the room, and looked over at us.

"How is the patient, Winry?" she asked, walking over to the side of the bed.

"She's awake, Auntie. Confused, though."

"I'd be surprised if she wasn't," Pinako said. "Where are you from, girl?"

"I…" I tried to decide on what to tell her. "I'm from America…"

Both of them looked at me strangely. "Where's that?" Winry asked.

"It's… Oh, god…" I sat up, and cupped my chin in my hand.

"Can you remember?" Pinako asked.

"I don't know how to tell you," I confessed. "It's… not part of this world."

Winry gave me a hard stare. "What do you mean, not part of this world?"

"You won't find it on any map. I'm from a different universe, I guess. It doesn't make a lot of sense…"

She stood, and looked out a window that opened onto a grassy field. "Did you… Come across a Gate?"

I thought back. "I wasn't awake when I came here, so I don't know."

She sighed. "Ed told me, before he left, that there was another world across the Gate. That he was going back there. And then Al disappeared, too." She turned to look back at me, and I could see the pain in her eyes. "Did they go to your world?"

"There's a story in my world that says they did," I told her, "But that they lived… eighty years before I was even born."

I saw a momentary shock pass across her features. "But… They left six months ago! And you say eighty years passed in your world!?"

"I don't get it either, Winry," I said, "But maybe the Gate doesn't connect by time, or maybe time doesn't really correspond. I don't know."

She nodded. "I guess there's no way to tell," she said. "Do you know… What made you come? What happened before you fell?"

I sighed. "I was playing a virtual reality game, about your world. 'Cause where I'm from, this whole world is seen as fiction. And the game stopped working all of a sudden. And then, I blacked out. And woke up here…"

She turned back to the window. "We should find a way to get you home," she said softly. "Maybe… Maybe you'll go to Ed's time… And get him to come home, too." Her voice broke.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and stood, swaying slightly. "Balance would help," I muttered.

Winry looked over at me, hastily drying her eyes. "You okay?" she asked. "You were out for a day…"

"I'm fine," I said, using the nightstand to regain my balance. "Just a little unsteady."

She nodded. "Your clothes are drying outside. They were a mess when we found you, so we washed them as best we could. But you can borrow something of mine in the meantime," she said. "What do you like to wear?"

I shrugged. "Anything's good. Beggars can't be choosers."

She smiled. "I'll be back in a minute."

* * *

Five minutes later, I was sitting on the bed, dressed in one of Winry's sundresses.

Winry knocked on the door. "You good?" she asked.

"Yeah, come on in!" I told her, and she opened the door.

"Looks like it fits," she said, giving me a once-over.

I nodded. "Hey, Winry? I have a request."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Slap me." I said, point-blank.

"What?" she looked extremely confused.

"I have to know that this isn't a dream. You can't get hurt in dreams. So try to hurt me."

She nodded, and thwacked my upper arm. "That help?" she asked.

I winced. "Ow. Yeah. Shit."

"…Not a dream, huh?" She asked quietly.

"No," I said, "Not a dream. Which means I need to find a way to go home…"

"Don't worry, Lana," She said, "I'll do what I can to help."

I nodded. "First thing you can do is tell me where I can find some food. I'm hungry!"

She laughed. "Come to the kitchen," she said. "Auntie is making lunch."

I grinned. One benefit to being marooned in an alternate universe? Amestrian food.

I entered the kitchen behind her, looking in thinly-veiled awe at how once-drawn scenery had become a true reality.

"It's not much to be impressed by," Pinako said.

"It's just… I never thought this even existed. I never even expected to be here." I told her. "I'm reveling in simply being here."

She nodded, turning to the stove. "Just don't let the flies in."

I snickered, but closed my mouth obediently. "What are you cooking?" I asked.

"Stew," she said, "Perfect for gaining strength."

I smiled. "Do you mind if I go outside?"

Winry stood up from where she had been sitting at the kitchen table. "Of course," she said. "Let me show you outside."

She opened a door near the table, and morning sunlight streamed in. I could smell the crisp scent of autumn as the fresh air mixed with the homey smell of the kitchen. I ran outside, forgoing sandals.

"It's beautiful here!" I exclaimed, not caring to hide the gigantic grin that I felt spreading across my face. "The air is so clean, I almost feel like it's impossible!"

Winry laughed. "There's only one train that comes through this area, and that's only once a day. So it's pretty quiet here."

I smiled at her. "I love it."

* * *

Cara Haneth looked at her husband, and then at the stairwell that led to the second storey of their home. "Did you hear that thunk?"

Warreth nodded. "Probably just Lana. Would you go check?"

Cara sighed, and stood up. "I'll let you know what she's up to."

She climbed the stairs to her daughter's room, as she often did when her husband didn't feel like speaking to the girl. She really didn't blame Lana for her shortness with her parents, but she knew that Warreth would never forgive her if she were to act on that, so she always did as he asked, whether by dropping everything she did to do what he wished not to do himself, or whether it was by telling her daughter what he wanted her to tell, no matter her own opinions.

She opened her daughter's door, steeling herself for the glare that often came from an interruption.

Her daughter wasn't there.

"Lana?" she called, looking around the room. The windows were closed and locked, so she knew her daughter hadn't left that way. You couldn't re-lock the windows from outside.

She walked down the hall, and knocked on all the doors. "Lana? Are you in there?" she repeated a good dozen times. There was no answer. No footfalls. No sound.

"Warreth? Have you seen Lana come downstairs?" she called, leaning over the banister of the steps.

"Is she not up there?" Warreth asked.

"No," Cara said. "And her windows are locked, so she wouldn't have gone out that way."

"I haven't seen her come downstairs," he said. She heard him heave himself up from his easy chair, and come to the bottom of the steps.

"LAAAANAAAA!" he called.

There was no answer.

"Lana?" Cara called. She was starting to worry. "Lana?" She opened all of the upstairs doors, looked in all of the closets.

No window had been opened. Her daughter was nowhere to be found.

"Warreth?" she said, her voice betraying her concern. "She's… gone."


	4. Broken

_Sorry, guys, for disappearing like that. Whoops. But I'm back now, so it's all good. Thanks so much for all of the reviews. Your feedback and subscriptions mean a lot to me, so keep it coming. Again, I make no claim on FMA, I'm not making a profit, etc, etc. _

_Just for clarification, Dr. Maria Ross, Dr. Breda, and the Sheska that works with them are our "modern" versions of the characters, not the exact characters that show up in FMA. They're like the Fritz Lang or Alfons Heidrich of their characters—Close, but no cigar. Enjoy the chapter, I promise to return the characters whole and unchanged. Flames are being saved for a barbeque after chapter 5._

Glitch

Chapter 4: Broken

Dr. Ross looked over at Sheska. "These particles are going to have a major effect on any electronics that aren't designed to handle them. Could you tell Dr. Breda to alert the CPSC? They may want to issue a test. This could easily affect a lot of computers."

Sheska nodded. "I'll get right on that, Ma'am."

* * *

The cell phone rang in Lana's room until the caller gave up. Cara sighed, allowing her head to fall into her hands. "Warreth, she didn't take her cell phone. Where could she have gone?"

Warreth shook his head. "I don't know, honey. Why are you asking me? I didn't tell her to run away."

"You're being insensitive, Warreth," Cara said quietly, her tears leaking into her voice. "You could at least try to care for your daughter."

Warreth Haneth exploded in anger, his level voice revealing far more than screaming ever would. "_I do care for her_," he insisted. "I want her to get into the best school, and become the best in her profession! I want her to make six figures and be healthy and wealthy! _I want our daughter to live a good life_! But she will_not_ do that by _running away_! _You've _made it too easy for her, Cara. She _ran away_ just to _spite_ me. That disrespectful child doesn't deserve care—I've been the_perfect_ father, and how does she thank me? She just _up_ and _leaves_!"

"Warreth!" Cara cried, tears running down her face. "Lana just… disappeared! She couldn't have left the house, all of the windows are shut and locked and the door didn't chime! But she's not here! I don't know how she got out, but I'm glad she did. You were driving her away, War! All you've ever cared about was money and fame and fortune! You never cared about her happiness. You never cared about anyone but yourself, and now my baby girl is gone and all you can do is blame her for your own ineptitude!"

"If I'm that inept," Warreth said, his voice threatening her, "I'll just leave."

"No, don't leave." Cara said. "You need the house; you need the space and the office. You need to be close to DC. I'll leave."

"Where do you think you can go?" Warreth asked her, a pinch of sadistic anger in his voice.

"I'll move back in with Mom," Cara told him. "Or I'll move in with Jillian. Or maybe one of my friends will rent me a room until I'm on my own again. I don't know. I don't care. It doesn't matter where I go, what matters is that I do go."

"You have twenty-four hours to get out of the house," Warreth said, hurt twisting in his voice.

"I'll only need two."

* * *

"Girls! Lunchtime!" Pinako called from inside the small house. Winry and I ran back in, giggling at how my hunger made itself loudly known.

"This smells amazing, Mrs—"

"Call me Auntie," Pinako said.

"Auntie, then. Either way, this smells delicious."

"Well, I expect that you will eat it and tell me if it tastes as good as it smells!" Auntie Pinako said.

"Absolutely!" I grinned, and dug in.

Twenty minutes later, I pushed myself back from the table, completely full on beef stew and homemade bread. Excusing myself, I stood, wandered outside, and lay flat on my back gazing up at the sparsely clouded afternoon sky.  
Winry joined me a few minutes later.

"I wonder what my parents are doing now?" I said softly. "Whether they've noticed I've disappeared. Whether my friends know I'm gone. What's happened since I left."

"There's really no way to know," Winry said. "Even Al had to go to great measures to dream across the Gate."

"Do you think I'll ever find my way home?" I asked her, turning over and studying the blades of grass at the tip of my nose.

"I don't know," she said, "But you would have to ask someone who knew more about it than I do. I'm an engineer," she said. "I'm not an Alchemist."

I sighed. "I know, Winry… And I think I'll go to Central. There's probably someone there who can help me, right?"

"I bet General Mustang could help you," she said. "He has reports on all of Ed's research."

"You're going to Central?" a girl said, sitting on Winry's other side.

I rolled back over and sat up. "Who…?"

"Oh! Lana, this is Rose," Winry said. The other girl shifted a bundle to her other arm, and reached over to shake my hand. A small sigh escaped from the bundle.

"Hi, Lana," Rose said. "This is my son, Thomas."

I smiled. "May I hold him?"

"Of course," she said, and passed the warmly bundled little boy over to me. I cradled him in my arms, and smiled down at the sleeping child. "He's absolutely beautiful," I told her.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "So, you're going to Central?"

"I need to find some information," I told her. "I need to find a way home."

"Where's your home?" she asked me.

"Across the Gate," I told her.

She nodded into the distance. "That's where Ed is, too."

"Yeah," I said.

* * *

The next morning, at breakfast, I broke the news to Auntie Pinako.

"You're sure about this?" she asked me, looking over the rims of her glasses.

"I have to, Auntie." I said. "There isn't any information here about the Gate. I need to find out how to open it, so I can get home."

"You'd have to know Alchemy to open that Gate," she told me.

"I know," I confessed. "I'll have to find someone to teach me. And then I'll have to find a way to open that gate."

"The only way I've heard of," Winry said, shooting a look at her grandmother, "Was by Human Transmutation."

I nodded. "But I have no reason to try to transmute anyone, so I'd have to find another way."

Winry sighed, setting her teacup down on the table. "I'll go with you."

"What?" the three of us said, in tandem.

"You don't know Amestris, Lana. And you definitely don't know Central. I've got a friend, Sheska, who lives there, and works with the military. And Mrs. Hughes lives there, too—We could visit her. They're still rebuilding after the 'quakes, but I'm sure we could find someone to stay with."

"You be careful, girls," Auntie Pinako said. "I don't want you two getting into trouble with anyone."

Winry nodded, wincing. "I don't want me getting in trouble with anyone, either."

Rose smiled. "I'll help take care of things until I go back to Lior, Winry. You go with Lana and take care of her."

I blushed. "I can take care of myself!" I said indignantly.

"Lana, you're a stranger to this world. No doubt you'd find yourself thrown in jail or something for no apparent reason," Winry said. "I'll keep you out of trouble."

I sighed. "Okay, so Winry and I are leaving for Central… When?"

"The train comes through at noon each day," Winry said. "So we've got two hours, or we leave tomorrow."

"Two hours," I said, standing. "I'll be ready."

She nodded. "I will be, too. Come to my room, I'll see what I have for you to borrow."

Two hours later, we stood on the train platform, armed with suitcases. Winry had my ticket, and we were awaiting the arrival of the train to Central.

"You ready?" She asked me as the clock across the platform ticked away.

"Absolutely," I said. "I'm finding a way home, after all."

The train approached, its noise drowning out my thoughts. It let out a gasp of air as it came to a stop, and its doors opened wide.

"After you," Winry said, and I stepped up.


	5. Central

_(Author's Note: Thanks, everyone, for your reviews so far. It's your support that keeps this fanfic going, and I'd like to just say that I love you all for taking the time to review. Yet again, I don't own anyone you recognize from the FMA canon. I promise, still, to return them to the story in the same state I found them in._

_Keep the feedback coming, it's the only way I'll know if Lana's becoming an ungodly Mary Sue.)_

Glitch

Chapter 5: Central

We sat on the hard seat of the train, and I stared out the rain-lashed window as we made our way north.

"What's Central like?" I asked Winry as we sped through the Amestrian countryside.

"It's really big," Winry told me, "And there's a ton of tall buildings. And Command is right in the center of the city. A lot of people there are Military."

I nodded. "It sounds really different," I said.

"They have cars there," Winry told me. "I've only seen a car a few times."

"Seriously?" I asked, incredulous. "Everyone has a car, in my world. Some people even have two or three."

"Wow!" Winry exclaimed. "What are they like inside?" she asked. "If I had a car, I could take it apart to see how it worked!"

I laughed. "My truck is twelve years old. If you ever showed up in my world, I'd totally let you play with it."

She smiled. "That'd be nice."

* * *

I woke up from a light nap three hours later. I suspected we were well on our way to Central by that point, but when another passenger wandered down the car, I roused myself enough to ask.

"We're about four hours out of Central, miss," the blond boy told me.

"Thank you," I said, eyeing him. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him.

"Brother?" a younger boy said, walking toward the one who had answered me.

"What is it, Fletcher?" the older one said, turning to him.  
That's who it was—Russell and Fletcher Tringham, who had pretended twice to be Ed and Al (although both times they had gotten into more trouble for it).

The little one, who looked maybe fourteen, stared up at him. "When're we gonna get there?" He asked, concern weighing down his voice.

"I'd say about four hours," Russell told him. "We're three hours out of Risembool, and it takes about seven hours on a rainy day."

"Do you travel by train often?" I asked him, trying to get a better feel for the country's travel habits.

"All the time," Russel told me. "It's the only way to travel." He shot me a friendly smile. "By the way, I'm Russell—And this is my little brother, Fletcher." He extended his hand to shake mine.

I smiled, taking his hand. "I'm Lana, it's nice to meet you."

He nodded. "And you. What brings you to Central?"

I paused. "I'm looking for… information," I said.

He glanced out the window at the rain-soaked countryside. "So are we, in a sense."

I nodded.

"Have you been to Central before?" Fletcher asked me.

"No," I said, with a smile. "I've heard so much about it, but I've never been there."

Russell sat down in the seat next to me. "Where are you from?" he asked.

"Oh…" I said, "We're from Risembool." Well kind of— Maybe.

"We saw a little of Risembool on our way through," Russell said thoughtfully, "But we didn't explore the town."

"It's nice there," I told him. "Quiet. But it's pretty."

He turned away, gazing out the window and across the train.

"It sounds nice," Fletcher said, sitting down in the aisle. "I'd like to visit there someday."

Winry stirred, waking up. "Whozit?" she mumbled.

"This is Russell and Fletcher," I told her. "Russell, Fletcher, this is Winry."

"Nice to meetcha," Fletcher said from his spot on the floor.

Winry yawned, and pulled herself into a sitting position. "And you," she said, rubbing her eyes.

The car seemed to get a little brighter, and I looked out the window. "Hey, look," I said, "The rain's letting up."

Russell nodded. "The clouds are breaking up on the other side. Sun's coming out over there."

Fletcher stood, and darted to the window.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"I'm looking for a rainbow!" he said.

I leaned over next to him. "Is that one, over there?" I asked him, pointing to what looked like a wash of color in the western sky.

"Hey! You're right! Look, brother, a rainbow!" Fletcher said, nodding excitedly.

We fell into easy conversation for the rest of the journey, never feeling the time go by. We pulled into Central Station, and Russell quickly left, Fletcher following closely behind him.

We got off the train and left the station, suitcases in hand. "Where to?" I asked Winry.

"Let's try to find Gracia. I haven't seen her in forever," Winry told me.

I agreed, looking around. "Let's go."

* * *

Central City was astounding. It was obvious that the city had been damaged six months previously, but the rebuilding effort was obviously being done wholeheartedly. Citizens were busily working at getting the last buildings back into full working order—I could tell that most of the homes and major locations had been repaired first, and that it was the warehouses and more common buildings that had waited with tarps and wood for keeping out the rain. We made our way through the more touristy streets near the train station, and into the residential district. Winry led me along a network of streets until we came upon a pretty townhouse with a white façade and pillars on the front porch. She stepped up onto the porch, and knocked, as I stepped up behind her.

The door was opened by a little girl who looked no more than six years old.

"Elysia!" Winry said, as the little girl pushed the door open further.

"WINRY!" the little girl cried. "MAMA! WINRY'S HERE!"

A tired-looking woman stepped into the foyer, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Winry!" she said, rushing over to give the teenager a hug. "It's been so long. How have you been?"

"I've been fine, Mrs. Hughes," Winry said, stepping into the foyer. "How are you? Are you and Elysia doing okay?"

"The military has been kind to us," Gracia said. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Lana," Winry said, stepping aside. "She's visiting Central, so I came with her."

"Come in, dear," Gracia said, "I apologize. The house is a little messy right now, I've been busy working with the recovery groups."

I followed them into a small parlor where a fire burned cheerfully. I noticed what looked like a dozen photos on the mantel, of what looked like a man and a woman, and in a few, a small child.

"Lana, this is Mrs. Hughes," Winry said, introducing her.

"It's nice to meet you," I said, as Winry and I sat on the couch.

"Can I get you anything?" Gracia asked us. "I have tea, and Elysia and I made cookies yesterday."

"Mama's cookies are the best!" Elysia said, climbing onto Winry's lap. She giggled as Winry tickled her.

"That would be wonderful," I said, smiling.

She came back with a tray laden with tea and cookies within minutes. "So what brings you to Central?" she asked.

I glanced at Winry. "I'm planning on becoming a State Alchemist," I told her, "And I need to find training before I take the exam."

"Why do you want to do that?" Gracia asked me, a look of concern flitting across her face. "It's dangerous work."

"I know," I said with a nod, "But there are better resources through the military than there are for civilian Alchemists."

"What are you researching?" she asked me. "What's your field?"  
I sighed. "I… don't know if I can tell you that," I said. "It's too hard to explain."

She nodded, not pressing the issue. "Where are you staying?" she asked us.

Winry squirmed where she sat on the couch. "We… don't have anywhere, yet."

Gracia laughed. "Well, if you'd like, you may spend the night here."

We made small talk for a little while after that, until the tea had been finished off, and the cookies nearly so.

Winry was the first to stand, after Elysia had climbed off of her lap. "Thank you very

much, Gracia," she said, "But I need to see if Scieszka has a certain book that I think Lana would find useful."

I stood, and we left for Scieszka's home.


End file.
